Apr 13, 2025; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (71) skates against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

Sharks Swimming in Deep Prospect Pool

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jon Alfano | Last updated Aug 28, 2025 5:00 PM ET

To say that the San Jose Sharks have been through the wringer over the past several years would be quite the understatement.

After being one of the NHL's most consistent teams for 15+ years, the Sharks have now missed the playoffs for six-straight seasons, whereas they only missed the playoffs six times in their first 27 seasons of existence. It's more than that, though, as they've also finished dead last in the league standings for the past two seasons, and by pretty significant margins as well.

There have been a few highlights, such as Erik Karlsson's Norris-winning season in 2022-23, but this has been one of the NHL's deepest rebuilds in recent memory.

The good news is, the Sharks have amassed a ton of young talent to build around for the future. So much, in fact, that The Athletic's Corey Pronman believes their prospect pool to be far and away the best in the league.

"San Jose’s pipeline is the clear top system in the NHL, headlined by a potential superstar in Macklin Celebrini," Pronman wrote. "The Sharks have surrounded Celebrini with legit building-block forwards in Michael Misa and Will Smith and a potential top-pair defenseman in Sam Dickinson. Just because they are No. 1, though, doesn’t mean the rebuild is over; there is a lot more hard work to do in San Jose, but they have gotten a lot of the most difficult pieces to acquire."

Any player 22 or younger was eligible for this list, which gave the Sharks a huge edge. For instance, even though William Eklund has played 174 NHL games already, he's still eligible for the list (even if only barely as he turns 23 in October).

Even with just the players on the younger side, though, the Sharks still have plenty of talent between Misa (18 years old), Dickinson (19), Smith (20 and more. Of course, the crown jewel is 19-year-old Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft who scored 25 goals and 63 points in 70 games as a rookie and finished third in Calder Trophy voting. If he hadn't missed time early on, he might've been able to win the award.

The Sharks are likely still a couple years away from truly competing for playoff spots, much less Stanley Cups. When they're ready, though, they're going to be a very dangerous team for years to come.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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